Register Now

In order to be able to post messages on the SailNet Community forums, you must first register. Please enter your desired user name, your email address and other required details in the form below.Please note: After entering 3 characters a list of Usernames already in use will appear and the list will disappear once a valid Username is entered.

User Name:

Password

Please enter a password for your user account. Note that passwords are case-sensitive.

Password:

Confirm Password:

Email Address

Please enter a valid email address for yourself.

Email Address:

OR

Log-in

User Name

Password

Remember Me?

Human Verification

In order to verify that you are a human and not a spam bot, please enter the answer into the following box below based on the instructions contained in the graphic.

Additional Options

Miscellaneous Options

Automatically parse links in text

Automatically embed media (requires automatic parsing of links in text to be on).

Automatically retrieve titles from external links

Click here to view the posting rules you are bound to when clicking the'Submit Reply' button below

IIRC "regular" home heating oil in the US is #2 grade, which may be similar to #2 diesel. There are different grades of both, you might want to make sure that's not an issue in your area. In the US there is also "winter diesel", i.e. the diesel fuel you buy in Minnesota in February will be different from the stuff you buy in Florida, to make sure it doesn't turn into jelly in the cold.

One hopes the heater will come with instructions as to what it can tolerate.

I also remember there are some specific warnings about not shutting the heaters down "immediately", apparently the ceramic parts in some can shatter from sudden temperature changes, so if the instructions say anything about warm-up or cool-down periods--follow them.

What you are referring to is called #1 diesel. This is also used in the buses of most cities, as it is less polutent.

07-30-2007 02:38 PM

Idiens

The exhaust pipe needs a swan net in it to prevent water ingress. Preferably, the heater should have a balanced flue - that is, the intake air to the burner comes through a concentric port with the exhaust, that stops both wind differential pressure effects on the burner and gives some degree of wave entry resistance.
Mine is an old Webasto heater. They are used primarily in trucks for stationary heating the cab, but also turn up as options for Mercedes in cold climates. The hot air circuit is entirely separate from the burner circuit, although they share a common fan motor, so given no leaks between the two there is no CO danger. These heaters are not the same as the infamous drip feed oil heaters sold for the domestic market - they are banned in Europe now, I believe, both because of fire hazard and CO emissions. If I were to buy a new one, I would go for the water heater type, it heats both radiators and the tap water onboard.
There are also convection types, which require a chimney, not for me though.

07-30-2007 01:57 PM

wind_magic

Thank you all, that really helps explain it. That picture helped a lot too. Now I kind of know what I am up against. I wonder how the exhaust port on the transom keeps from getting water in it from a following sea ? It's not unheard of for water to come over the transom into the cockpit, wouldn't that send water rushing through your diesel heater ?

Freesail99, why are you taking your heater out ? Is it broken ?

07-30-2007 11:24 AM

hellosailor

IIRC "regular" home heating oil in the US is #2 grade, which may be similar to #2 diesel. There are different grades of both, you might want to make sure that's not an issue in your area. In the US there is also "winter diesel", i.e. the diesel fuel you buy in Minnesota in February will be different from the stuff you buy in Florida, to make sure it doesn't turn into jelly in the cold.

One hopes the heater will come with instructions as to what it can tolerate.

I also remember there are some specific warnings about not shutting the heaters down "immediately", apparently the ceramic parts in some can shatter from sudden temperature changes, so if the instructions say anything about warm-up or cool-down periods--follow them.

07-30-2007 11:05 AM

rewell6

Actually I just had to rewrite this. for a second time.

As for the carbon monoxide, search google. Use the quotes
"diesel heater" carbon monoxide

If you just search diesel and carbon monoxide it mostly returns diesel engines, which produce very little (0.4%) carbon monoxide under full load and about the exhaust is about 18% oxygen. The exhaust smell would be rather annoying, but no death.

A diesel heater, like any other heater, does produce enough carbon monoxide to kill. You will need a place for fresh air, such as an open window, and if the wind blows the exhaust back down the pipe and out the window, well you've got a problem.

Make sure to get a carbon monoxide detector or two.

07-30-2007 11:02 AM

TrueBlue

07-30-2007 10:50 AM

TrueBlue

My diesel heater direct experiences have been with the old Espar 3DL heater, which my boat was originally commissioned with, and the Espar Airtronic 4D upgrade I installed last year.

The system I have is actually simple, consisting of a diesel fired furnace unit ignited by an electrical glow-plug. Diesel is delivered to the unit via a low amperage, in-line metered pump. Integrated circuitry regulates the required amount of fuel to whatever temperature the bulkhead mounted digital thermostat calls for.

A stainless exhaust conduit connects the combustion chamber to a stainless port, located on the exterior high side of the hull. Just below the aft cabin's rubrail on my boat - since it's 5'-10" above the water line. Most other sailboats have the exhaust located on the transom.

Fresh air is provided by an above deck intake vent. There are six individual, damper controlled forced air outlets, positioned throughout the boat, all connected to the furnace plenum by concealed, flexible round ducts.

The Espar 4D sips fuel with the meter pump and only uses .8 to 3.0 peak amps during use, 12 volts - so heating the boat away from shore power is of no big concern. More info on Espar is available HERE if you're interested.

07-30-2007 10:47 AM

Freesail99

I have a Dickerson heater Alaska model on my boat, which I am removing. It works very well, I just will not need it where I am going. I ran it on diesel and home heating oil, no difference that I could see.

07-30-2007 10:29 AM

wind_magic

Thank you all for the great responses.

That answers my question.

I do have another related question, however. I have been looking at diesel heaters and I know nothing about them except what I see online, I have never seen one in person. It looks like they are pretty simple, that there is an stack for them, and I am sure there is a lot of requirements about how high the stack comes off the deck and that kind of thing, and I can figure that out by reading the installation instructions, etc. But what I was really wondering is, what else does it hook to, what other requirements are there for it's operation besides a stack and obviously a connection to a fuel source. Does it need any kind of a fuel pump or does it already have something like that built into it ? I guess it probably needs an electrical connection to spark ? Does it use a lot of amps of electricity ?

I assume too that there isn't any real chance of carbon monoxide building up so long as the stack remains intact and is venting to the outside. (?)

Thanks again for the diesel/heating oil answers.

07-30-2007 10:22 AM

JimsCAL

In the US, home heating oil and diesel fuel are the same thing. The red dye is so untaxed heating oil can't be sold as taxed motor fuel. Should work fine in a diesel oil heater.

This thread has more than 10 replies.
Click here to review the whole thread.